The giants like Google, Yahoo and even AOL will be around for as long as email will be around.

I think you're right about Google, but not sure about Yahoo and AOL the way things are going. I suspect a lot of people are somewhat embarrassed to use a Yahoo or AOL address today. On the other hand, I encounter a lot of business people using Gmail addresses even if they also have domain email--they seem to be considered acceptable by most, as long as your address isn't something like drunkensailor@gmail.com.

I encounter a lot of business people using Gmail addresses even if they also have domain email--they seem to be considered acceptable by most, as long as your address isn't something like drunkensailor@gmail.com.

I don't think Jack Tar will be quite so jolly if he's suddenly receiving spam in his Gmail account:

One of the best features of Gmail is the best Spam filtering in the business. I've had various email addresses of mine published all over the Internet for many years and yet I see very little Spam, and on the other side of the coin most of the good stuff gets through. Also, I find that if you report something as Spam the system learns very well.

There's still enough people around who prefer to use a smaller email provider for support reasons. Unlike the big guys, they can get better support from a person at the small company that doesn't work off a script of canned responses.